Positron Emission Tomography (PET) for Staging and Evaluation of Response to Treatment in Patients with Hodgkin's Disease

• Published in: Leukemia & lymphoma Vol. 34; no. 5-6; pp. 545 - 551
• Main Authors: Weidmann, Eckhart, Aican, Bianca B., Hertel, Andreas, Balm, Richard P., Chow, Kaiu, Knupp, Bernhard, Adams, Stefan, Hör, Gustav, Hoelzer, Dieter, Mitrou, Paris S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Informa UK Ltd 1999; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Biopsy; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Hodgkin Disease - diagnosis; Hodgkin Disease - diagnostic imaging; Hodgkin Disease - pathology; Hodgkin Disease - therapy; Hodgkin's disease; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; PET; Predictive Value of Tests; Radiopharmaceuticals; Remission Induction; response evaluation; staging; Tomography, Emission-Computed; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; uncertain complete remission
• ISSN: 1042-8194; 1029-2403
• DOI: 10.3109/10428199909058482

Forty two examinations utilizing F-18 FDG-PET were performed in 23 patients with Hodgkin's disease to study for involved lymphoma regions and compared to conventional staging procedures. Twenty stagings were performed at diagnosis of untreated Hodgkin's disease or at first relapse, and 22 restagings during and after chemoradiotherapy. At diagnosis in 5 of 20 patients PET and other procedures revealed different extranodal manifestations and in 3 patients established different clinical staging. PET seemed to be accurate in the assessment of lymphoma involvement in nodal sites. During follow up, in 10 out of 22 investigations different results and discrepancy were recorded, mostly due to the different extent of F-18-DG metabolism in residual masses in lymphatic tissues compared to CT, X-ray or ultrasonogra-phy. The results indicate that PET may have advantages in the assessment of remissions in nodal sites. Less conclusive results were observed with regard to extranodal involvement or inflammatory disease. In conclusion PET may be sufficient for the staging of the majority of patients with Hodgkin's disease and particularly for assessing remission status in nodal sites, but PET may have disadvantages in the evaluation of extranodal lymphoma and inflammatory disease.